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Saturday, August 30, 2008

While taking art classes at UCI, I have discovered that I really enjoyed experimenting with the theme of disembodiment in my pieces. I have been focusing mainly on the head, but I would like to play with the idea even more.

I drew this piece in my drawing class with charcoal. I never really questioned why I left the face out. But I do know that this person had very appealing hands. The asymmetry of the way he stood doesn't show very well in the photo :p But I really enjoyed the mystery of this piece.

I took this picture when my boyfriend was sleeping and tangled amongst the mess that is my blankets. I wanted to turn this photo into a painting but it failed miserably -___- I will attempt it again when I take more painting classes. The way his arms and legs are just sticking out in different places around the blanket is kind of funny.

I also took photography classes at Irvine. Exploring disembodiment was also very fun because I can take the photos and put them together like so.

This piece that I did in life drawing was a bit controversial . Because the girl was so dark and covered in shadow on one side, I really wanted that part of her to disappear and become part of the background . I thought about adding a background to the other side of her body to accent the light on the other side. But I decided not to and see what my teacher and my peers would say. A few people wanted to see a background on the other side of the figure. But my teacher Rebecca Kimmel also gave me feedback and said that the background is fine the way it is.

While I was trying to discover more ways to be creative with the idea, I found other artists who represented disembodiment in their art.

Enrico Casarosa:This piece is called Girl and Kingyo. (Courtesy of Gallery Nucleus) I actually saw this piece at the gallery nucleus exhibition and I remember it being quite large. I really appreciate the size of the piece. It makes it even more lovely.

Also by Enrico Casarosa: Your KneeAnother artist who also seems to like to chop off limbs is Audrey Kawasaki:Many of her pieces feature girls with separated hands, torsos with missing appendages and much more.http://www.audrey-kawasaki.com/index.phpI can't explain the beauty and wonders of her pieces so I provided her website :)

One last artist I would like to mention is my painting artist at UCI, Ian Patrick. Ian is a wonderful painter and finding his work on the internet is very difficult. So I emailed him and asked for a website and his permission to share his work. I will post his work as well as soon as he responds.

I would like to continue to explore the mysteries and fun of disembodiment. Little did I know that my favorite artists were also exploring the same until I took on the experiment myself. This theme has offered me a different perspective about art. I don't quite know what it means to cut someone's face in half, or to separate arms and such. But I do have an idea, and I will continue to dwell in the world of hidden body parts.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

I started Chinese painting about a year ago. My mom wanted me to try it out and see if I would like it. I agreed because Chinese paintings are very beautiful and I wanted to try something new. She took me to a famous Chinese painter who happened to live very close by. He wanted to meet me first before starting any lessons. I remember that he didn't want to accept me at first because he thought I was too young. He also thought that it very unusual for a young person such as myself to take an interest in such an old tradition. But he accepted me in the end with the help of another one of his students who happen to be my mom's friend, Mr. Li.A year has passed and my teacher very much enjoys having me as a student. (whew!)This November, I will be displaying 3 pieces that I painted in my teacher's annual exhibition. I'm pretty excited about it. At first I thought it was going to interfere with my Cal Arts application process because I would be overwhelmed with art. But actually I already have 2 of my pieces done. The exhibition is in November but I am required to have my pieces done at the end of September. So there will be no problem at all with Cal Arts. Which is really good! (It must be a sign!!!)

I really just wanted to write about how I feel about Chinese painting. I feel as if Chinese painting isn't really painting. It's more like drawing with a brush. Perhaps it is between drawing and painting. Every stroke counts and mistakes must be minimal to none. You feel as if this form of art is about perfection. But it really isn't. My teacher constantly reminds me to make these strokes messier, or to vary the sizes of the leaves and such.Chinese painting has taught me a lot of patience and discipline of the hand.Another important thing I learned from Chinese painting is the ability to bring feeling into a painting. Like figure drawing, Chinese paintings need a sense of life of gesture. I find this to be a challenge in my art making process but I enjoy it.

I hope to become a lot better. Because the pieces that I will be displaying are nothing compared to my teacher's other students (who are all middle-aged and had at least 2 years experience...wow...I'm telling you they are gooood.)I hope they let me take pictures at the exhibition because I want to show the work of my peers.Hopefully next year I show my work, I won't be known as the teacher's little ABC student :)

I'm very grateful for taking up Chinese painting. It really is a treasure that I hope everyone can share and like.

Here are just a few of the pieces that I have painted just for practice. Every week, I paint about 10 pieces and I show it to my teacher on Fridays. My teacher will correct my pieces and if he feels like I can move on, then he will teach me something new.

I will try to post more and better pieces later on.My gallery pieces are at home so they won't be ruined but I will get pictures of those as soon as they are made into scrolls so they look more official :)

Friday, August 22, 2008

i've been doing some drawings on my own time because i cant lose the momentum.(need to keep the momentum!)and also because i need to practice using charcoal pencil.charcoal pencil is like... the weapon that i never use in devil may cry because its different, kind of weird and i dont know how to use it but it probably kicks butt.

this piece is from characterdesign.com.im pretty happy with how the drawing turned out.this really encourages me to bust out more drawings using charcoal pencil.

this is my ugly dog piece. i still have to work on it and give it a background or something. the dog in this piece is my dog. she looks like that when she lays down and shows her teeth. its pretty funny. i dont mean to call her ugly because she isn't! but those faces she showed me at the time were quite unlady-like.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

it was my first time at Siggraph and it was really fun! i was first in line for the poster giveaway at the Pixar booth :) not much to say about Siggraph because it was pretty overwhelming. i hope that when i go again, i will be even more excited because i will actually be working in the industry! (i think about half my fun was all the schwag that i got -___- ) but i wasnt at Siggraph to load up on the loot i promise. I really liked how much information was available at Siggraph. really good stuff.

this picture is from the unofficial cg talk meeting. i have no idea what im talking about in the picture or why i look like that. the girl next to me is melissa. very sweet girl who is an environment artist for activision. (yay call of duty!) she is awesome and encourages more girls to work in the industry. thanks melissa!the man sitting next to me is jeremy birn, lighting artist at pixar. it was nice talking to him. i didnt get the chance to talk to him as much as i wanted, but thats ok.i also met another girl named pokee who is a game programmer. she is also very cool and told me that she loves her job. i really wish that one day I can be like them.

also, i was informed by mr. jeremy birn that pixar movie dvds will no longer have special behind the scenes features unless you by the blu-ray disc. sad news :( i did notice that the ratatouille dvd did not have the special features. and walle probably wont have them either. blu ray is expensive -____-

Thursday, August 14, 2008

This summer has been pretty life changing for me. My recent life drawing class has opened my eyes even more as to what it takes to be an artist. To tell the truth, I have been producing work that I never thought I could draw. So this summer, I will continue to crank out work until its time to submit my portfolio.My life drawing class this summer gave me another reality slap. During the second week of my class, I showed some of my work to my teacher Rebecca Kimmel. When she saw my paintings, she told me that my paintings weren't as strong. And after I saw her student work online, I knew that I had to step it up even more. Sadly, but at the same time I gladly gave my two weeks notice at work. But luckily since I'm considered head waitress, they'll let me come back when I have the time. So, I'm actually on vacation :)

If there's anything that I learned from being an artist, its that works in progress are UGLY. So time and patience must be needed in order to become the artist that I want to become.My art teachers have always told me that during the 5 hour long figure drawing class, if I can produce one good drawing, then I have done my job.

I made this blog to document my process of going into art school. I have made some huge changes in my life the past few months and I need an outlet. I'm not a fan of online blogs because of a certain past event but I will try again.